Home » Gardening

Arrowhead Plant Propagation: 2 Easy Ways to Propagate Syngonium

ByNell Foster Published on

Syngoniums grow fast and at some point will need a bit of pruning. Arrowhead Plant propagation by stem cuttings is easy. Here are 2 simple ways to do it!

Arrowhead Plants grow fast, get dense, and at some point will need pruning.

They have thick, soft stems that tend to get heavy with foliage at the ends as they age. I like to periodically trim the ends to keep them in shape and prevent too much flopping.

Arrowhead Plants are vines by nature so if you want them to stay more compact, you’ll need to some pruning 2 or 3 times a year.

As long as you’re pruning, why not propagate a few of the cuttings? 

a large arrowhead plant syngonium sits next to a small arrowhead plant syngonium on a work table
My Arrowhead Plant after its pruning. The little 1 on the right will quickly grow to this size so heads up!

When is a good time to propagate an Arrowhead Plant?

I did this at the end of April. Spring, summer & fall are good times to propagate because the roots grow faster in the warmer weather. I’ve propagated in winter by stem cuttings but it takes longer.

Watch this video guide below!

How to Propagate an Arrowhead Plant

Take the cuttings at the desired length just below a node. You want to make sure the stems are long enough so at least 2 or 3 nodes can go in the water or mix.

And, make sure your pruners are clean & sharp before taking the cuttings. You don’t want to make jagged cuts.

Remove some bottom leaves from each stem. They’ll most likely die anyway & you’ll see new growth emerging throughout the rooting process.

Place the cuttings in water or mix. Make sure 2-3 nodes are covered by water or the mix.

a finger points to a leaf node on the stem of an arrowhead plant syngonium
That little brown bump I’m pointing at is a node. You’ll see them up & down the stems. The roots will emerge from it.

Things to know about Arrowhead Plant propagation

Arrowhead Plants (Syngonium podophyllums) come in an array of leaf variegations, colors & shapes. This propagation method applies to all varieties of them. 

Arrowhead Plants grow along the ground & up other plants in their natural environments. Their roots are very strong & extensive. 

How fast does an Arrowhead Plant propagate?

Because of the above, the rooting process happens very quickly. The 1st roots started appearing after a week. It’s now been about 2 weeks since the cuttings were put in water & roots have formed on both of the stems.

When I gently pull on the cuttings in the succulent mix, I feel some resistance so they’re rooting too.

arrowhead plant syngoium cuttings in soil & in water sit on a work table with a woman holding a pair of floral snips
You can see the size of the cuttings I took. The jar turned out to be too small so I transferred the cuttings to a larger one. The stems curved on the cuttings in the soil mix so I planted them with the stems on their sides. You’ll see that in the video.

How long: the cuttings I took were 8 – 18″ from the bottom of the stems to the top of the tallest leaf. You can make them shorter or longer – whatever your preference is!

The mix: I’m rooting 2 of the cuttings in a grow pot in succulent & cactus mix. As I mentioned, the roots of an Arrowhead Plant are very strong so you could use potting soil with a bit of added pumice or perlite added in (if you have it).

You can also propagate an Arrowhead Plant by division. Just know that as the plant ages they get thick & a bit twisted so dividing 1 can be tricky. 

When the cuttings are ready for planting

You don’t have to wait too long. I could plant these cuttings at this point (pictured in the last photo) because the roots are so strong. I’m going to hang on for another week to plant them.

I like to propagate the cuttings in water not only because it’s a snap, but mainly because I can see the progress (using a glass container helps too!).

a finger points to the emerging roots on a plant stem
After a week, roots were emerging.

Where to put the cuttings

The best place for your cuttings is a bright location without any direct sun. I put mine on the window sill in the guest bedroom which is a north exposure. Lots of light comes in but no sun hits them.

How to maintain the cuttings

I change the water in the jar every 5-7 days to freshen & maintain the level. The cuttings in the succulent & cactus mix get watered every 4-5 days. You don’t want the mix to dry out.

Once they’re rooted to your satisfaction, you can put them in potting soil.

2 stems which are rooting sit in a jar of water
This is the level I keep the water in the jar. I don’t fill it with water because I don’t want roots to emerge up & down the entire stems, just at the bottom.

Planting the cuttings once they’re rooted

Once the cuttings are rooted, you can plant them into a proportionately sized pot.

My cuttings are on the smaller side so I’ll put them all into a 4″ grow pot because a 6″ pot would be out of scale at this point.

I’ve done a post and video for you on repotting Arrowhead Plants which you’ll find helpful when it comes time to plant your cuttings.

It includes the soil mix I like to use for these beautiful plants.

You see how fast and easy propagating this plant is. You’ll be giving away Arrowhead Plants in no time!

Happy gardening,

Signed by Nell Foster

Some Of Our General Houseplant Guides For Your Reference:

This post may contain affiliate links, you can read our policies here.

Similar Posts

6 Comments

  1. Hi thanks for the propagating tip re syngoniums . I will surely try it out next week . I’m from Malta.

    I am trying to propogate birds nest fern from spores. Any advice pls

  2. Noel – You’re welcome. The syngoniums are a snap to propagate. I can’t give you any advice regarding the ferns as I’ve never propagated them from spores, only division. Nell

  3. Wonderful post and video! I have a syngonium that I’m going to attempt to propagate for the first time, and your video has given me more confidence 🙂

    Thank you for this step by step demonstration as well as information on how to care for the cuttings! Wonderful to see the one and a half week progress as well!

Comments are closed.